The Real Asian-American Race Issue

But Mr. Chen counterattacked, after Ms. Steel criticized him for trying to bring the Confucian Classroom to the Hacienda La Puente schools, where Mr. Chen served on the board. The Confucian Classroom is a Chinese government-funded program that then-Secretary of State

Mike Pompeo

in October 2020 called “a real and increasing threat to U.S. classrooms.” The son of Taiwanese immigrants and an intelligence officer in the Naval Reserve, Mr. Chen says Ms. Steel is guilty of red-baiting and fomenting “anti-Asian racism.”

The red-baiting charge has just resurfaced, after a Steel flier featured Mr. Chen holding a copy of “The Communist Manifesto” in a classroom with imagery from Mao and Ho Chi Minh to

Bernie Sanders.

The flier has garnered much condemnation. But so far there’s been almost no coverage of another issue of particular concern for Asian-Americans—officially sanctioned racial discrimination against Asian-American college applicants.

Enter Ying Ma and the new Equal Rights for America PAC. Though not specifically an Asian-American political-action committee, its leadership includes Asian-Americans veterans from the successful NO on 16 campaign in 2020 in California—which beat back an effort to repeal language in the state constitution prohibiting race preferences. These veterans include Ms. Ma and

Betty Chu,

a former mayor of Monterey Park.

“We picked Michelle Steel for our first endorsement because she is a firm opponent of race discrimination and her opponent is not—even though he is Asian-American himself,” Ms. Ma says. “We expect Michelle’s victory to be very clarifying on this issue.”

Like Ms. Steel, Ms. Ma is also an immigrant from Asia. She was

Larry Elder’s

communications director during his run against Gov.

Gavin Newsom

in last year’s recall election. The year before, she was also communications director for the NO on 16 campaign. That effort also included

Ward Connerly,

the former University of California regent who led the original 1996 fight to ban race preferences in the Golden State. He is now chairman of the PAC’s advisory committee.

“While racism is not extinct in America, the system is no longer racist, and policies that embrace bigotry masquerading as social justice are not the solution,” he said in a statement announcing the Equal Rights for America PAC.

Ms. Ma says she founded the PAC to uphold one principle: equal treatment for all. That covers a lot of ground these days, including opposition to critical race theory. But probably the most pressing concern today is the pending Supreme Court cases over admissions at Harvard and the University of North Carolina. These cases have helped drive home to many Asian-Americans that they are now on the losing end of the equity agenda—with their kids denied entry over less-qualified applicants because elite schools think they already have too many Asians.

On Friday the PAC ran its first ad, with a knock on Mr. Chen. It features Ms. Ma saying, “I came to America from Communist China for freedom. So I was stunned to see a candidate for Congress support racial discrimination against Asian college applicants.” The ad contrasts Mr. Chen’s position supporting race preferences in college admissions with Ms. Steel’s opposition.

The Harvard and North Carolina cases will be heard Oct. 31 but won’t be decided until next year. Neither Ms. Steel nor Mr. Chen has thus far emphasized the issue. But Ms. Ma notes that each has already taken a clear side.

Ms. Steel has spoken out against Harvard, and she and Sen.

Ted Cruz

(R., Texas) led 80 colleagues to file a friend-of-the-court brief supporting the plaintiffs in these suits, Students for Fair Admissions. In 2016, by contrast, Mr. Chen appeared on Tucker Carlson’s Fox News show, where as both an Asian-American and Harvard alumnus he defended the university’s use of race. All through the interview, Mr. Chen avoided answering Mr. Carlson’s direct question about whether Harvard’s race discrimination against Asian-Americans is wrong.

Ms. Ma thinks it’s still a good question—and her PAC hopes to make it harder for politicians to dodge it.

“Too many of our elected representatives claim to be against anti-Asian hate but then support Harvard’s race discrimination in admissions,” she says. “We’re not going to let them get away with it any more.”

Write to mcgurn@wsj.com